Heavy metal confession time: I was never a big Bolt Thrower fan. I won’t deny their importance to death metal, but the collective worship by the twenty something year old trendsetter crowd was beyond me…until last year. It was a drunken night before the entire world imploded. After listening to Manilla Road’s Crystal Logic in between pizza and beer (my choice when asked what I wanted to hear), my friend popped Bolt Thrower’s Realm of Chaos into his tape deck.
I finally “got it”. No wonder so many bands devote entire careers to sounding like these guys and gal. The riffs are absolutely massive! Who wouldn’t want to sound like them? This realization brings us to today’s featured band, Death Kommander. Hailing from Edinburgh, 5 hours north of Bolt Thrower’s native Coventry, Death Kommander keeps the legendary band’s spirit alive through war themed lyrics and thick, mid paced death metal.
Pro Patria Mori is Death Kommander’s first full length album. It’s 12 tracks long and can be divided into two halves. The first half is rather orthodox Bolt Thrower worship. The drums never go past midtempo, the gutturals are no-nonsense, and the riffs crush you like a World War 1 war tank pummeling through Germany. While all of these songs are enjoyable, there’s nothing that stand out from the other half decent Bolt Thrower worship acts. That is until we get to the second half.
“Unnamed Grave” is where this album gains focus and takes control. The lead riff is so nasty, it demands your utmost attention. “Play of Death” continues the assault with a punky breakdown midway through. “Flander’s Blues” is groovy death metal done right, while “Flamethrower” contains the slightest tinge of thrash to give it that extra push.
Death Kommander are definitely one of the more enjoyable and convincing Bolt Thrower worship bands out there today. If you like your death metal slow and strong, reach for your battle helmet and prepare for war. It has arrived and it’s Pro Patria Mori.
6 out of 10
Label: Warhorn Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Bolt Thrower, Memoriam, Benediction